Knuckle changeup

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Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Knuckle ball is a strange beast. DD had a teammate were the ball would suddenly drop and hit in front of plate, the batter's would swing at it if they did not see her very often. If they saw her a few times they just let it go for a ball.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
JAD, I'm not sure about this...
If deception is the key, wouldn't make more sense to have more spin? This only adds to the deception!

I would not consider a knuckleball the most deceptive change up, but my DD struggled trying to throw a flip change, so it has been her "go to" through the years.
 
Jun 14, 2016
270
0
My DD’s grip and release is very similar to that top one. I’m going to try to get video or a picture of it. When she releases it, the ball has really tight spin on it.


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A change up is a "cute" pitch when your DD is 10-12U, but becomes a liability as she gets into the older more advanced levels of the game. Here are a few reasons why you don't see knuckleballs by the elite pitchers in the world: 1. Typically the arm slows down because with all the knuckles on the ball vs fingers the ball feels like it is going to slip out of the hand.....so it is extremely difficult to maintain a high level of deception; 2. Higher spin rates to a hitter equates in their brain as faster speeds....this is why a knuckle ball can be more easily to react to as the pitcher moves up in competition level; 3. At virtually every level of college softball a knuckleball grip is easily read by the hitter or by the coach who relays to the hitter.....it is just to easy so why risk this?
I have probably had 100 kids come to me with a knuckleball grip.......in one lesson it can be easily modified to a paralyzed finger grip that is not pickable, enables a good feeling of grip on the ball, and gets the speed off the pitch. The video the Shaker posted above is an example of this grip/release.....I recommend that one.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Knuckle ball is a strange beast. DD had a teammate were the ball would suddenly drop and hit in front of plate, the batter's would swing at it if they did not see her very often. If they saw her a few times they just let it go for a ball.

The key to a good change up is arm speed and pitching motion. The pitchers arm/motion needs to look as much like her fastball as possible. If the batter is trying to read the spin on the ball and react it is too late for 98.2% of hitters...the other 1.8% will still have a hard time squaring up the pitch.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
Not saying it can't be done - but I think it would be pretty difficult to pick up 1-2 knuckles on ball if the pitcher keeps their arm speed up and hides the ball in her glove well into her windup; and how could the coach relay that info to the hitter at that point? Could also have a similar appearance to a bent finger rise if the grip could even be picked up at all. I think those who benefit the most from this pitch are girls with very long fingers as they can still maintain a good grip on the ball with their thumb, ring, and pinky. Thrown as a drop curve it can be very nasty.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Not saying it can't be done - but I think it would be pretty difficult to pick up 1-2 knuckles on ball if the pitcher keeps their arm speed up and hides the ball in her glove well into her windup; and how could the coach relay that info to the hitter at that point? Could also have a similar appearance to a bent finger rise if the grip could even be picked up at all. I think those who benefit the most from this pitch are girls with very long fingers as they can still maintain a good grip on the ball with their thumb, ring, and pinky. Thrown as a drop curve it can be very nasty.

DD's new pitching coach is modifying her pitching motion, eliminating her backswing to make it harder to pickup her grip. Will be interesting to see how that works out for her this Spring. If she does not lose any velocity I think it will be an improvement.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Not saying it can't be done - but I think it would be pretty difficult to pick up 1-2 knuckles on ball if the pitcher keeps their arm speed up and hides the ball in her glove well into her windup; and how could the coach relay that info to the hitter at that point? Could also have a similar appearance to a bent finger rise if the grip could even be picked up at all. I think those who benefit the most from this pitch are girls with very long fingers as they can still maintain a good grip on the ball with their thumb, ring, and pinky. Thrown as a drop curve it can be very nasty.

Why use a different grip when you can use your existing grip, slightly modify the finger pressure and get the same result?
 

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